Alex de Minaur is looking to continue his strong claycourt form at the Barcelona Open, following his quarterfinal appearance in Monte Carlo. He is seeded third in the tournament.
De Minaur’s Barcelona Campaign
De Minaur, the third seed, is set to face Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner in the first round of the ATP 500 event. The pair have met once before, with de Minaur winning in straight sets in Acapulco in 2024.
If he wins, de Minaur will play either Hamad Medjedovic or Marco Trungelliti. De Minaur defeated Medjedovic in the second round of the Australian Open.
De Minaur is defending points in Barcelona after reaching the quarter-finals in 2023, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. He will be looking to draw confidence from his recent run in Monte Carlo, where he defeated Cameron Norrie and Alexander Blockx.
Kasatkina’s Return and Other Aussie Players
Daria Kasatkina has returned from a hip injury. The injury has kept her out of action since February. She faces Ann Li at the Rouen Open, a WTA 250 event.
A win would put Kasatkina into the second round against either Kamilla Rakhimova or Elvina Kalieva. Before her injury, she beat Elise Mertens in Doha and took a set off Iga Swiatek.
Ellen Perez is partnering with Demi Schuurs at the WTA 500 Stuttgart Open. The duo will face Fang Hsien Wu and Eri Hozumi in round one. They have reached the semifinals in Adelaide and the quarterfinals in Abu Dhabi and Indian Wells this year.
Aussies in Challenger Events
Five Australian men are competing at the Busan Open Challenger in South Korea. James Duckworth is the top seed and will face August Holmgren. Duckworth has recently made Challenger finals in Mexico City and San Luis.
- Adam Walton is seeded second and will play Hsu Yu-hsiou.
- Dane Sweeny plays Ilya Ivashka.
- Alex Bolt and James McCabe will face each other in an all-Australian match.
Five more Australians are in the singles draw of the Wuning Open Challenger in China: Li Tu, Moerani Bouzige, Omar Jasika, Philip Sekulic and Blake Ellis. Ethan Cook and Tai Sach are fourth seeds in the doubles draw, and Joshua Charlton is also competing.
Patrick Harper and Alex Bulte are competing in doubles at the Tallahassee Challenger in Florida. Blake Bayldon and Tenika Mcgiffin are both playing doubles events in Oeiras, Portugal.